


When the Lights Go Down in the City

by WhatBecomesOfYou



Category: Glee
Genre: Established Relationship, F/F, F/M, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-11-27
Updated: 2013-11-27
Packaged: 2018-01-02 20:05:47
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 19,648
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1061040
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WhatBecomesOfYou/pseuds/WhatBecomesOfYou
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After Jake and Marley move to the big city, they meet up with Kurt, Sam, Dani and Santana, and find new friendship - and help with a big plan that Sam has for Kurt.</p>
            </blockquote>





	When the Lights Go Down in the City

**Author's Note:**

  * For [rainbowkitten](https://archiveofourown.org/users/rainbowkitten/gifts).



> Disregards all of season 5 except for Dani/Santana, but set sometime in the future, after Jake and Marley have graduated from McKinley. Written for and prompted by (in various parts) rainbowkitten, without whom this story would not exist. Thank you. <3

“Marley sent me a Facebook message,” Sam said, calling out over his shoulder to where Kurt was in the kitchen. “She said that it was graduation day in Lima yesterday.”

“Oh? So her and Jake and the rest are now graduated?” Kurt asked, wiping his whisk on a towel and stepping closer to where Sam was sitting on the couch. “Hard to believe that people I didn't even know are now graduated from high school. That's one way to make me feel like I'm old.”

“Yeah, and she says that she wants to move to New York.”

“So she contacted the one person she kind of, sort of, knows out here and thought, 'hey, I'll room with him and his boyfriend and sleep on their couch and eat their food for a year until I can afford a place of my own?' She seems like a nice enough girl, but I don't want to share my grocery bill with her.”

“No, more like, she wants a little help finding a place for her and Jake to live.”

“That,” Kurt said, sliding in next to Sam on the couch and placing his hand on Sam's shoulder, “is something that you and I definitely can help her with. Tell her to call you, and we can get this figured out. I'm sure there's a cute little walk-up somewhere that's affordable for a girl just out of high school...”

* * *

Marley hefted a box up on her hip and called out to Jake. “Ja- _ake_ , where are you? I need your help with these boxes,” she said, her voice echoing upwards toward him.

He peeked his head through the window. “I'm up here,” he said. “C'mon up, you really gotta check this out. Kurt and Sam hooked us up with a _really_ sweet place.”

She smiled as she bounced the box on her hip. “I'll be right up.” She opened the door to their apartment building and took the stairs carefully, not wanting to drop the box. She didn't know what was in there – but it wasn't really like two kids fresh out of high school had a lot of worldly possessions to their name. Especially not when the two were her and Jake, who had not been the wealthiest kids in Glee club. She glanced down at the box as she walked up the stairs. In his smudged-but-still-legible handwriting, it said “dishes.” _Definitely_ didn't want to drop those, or they would be eating out of their hands until they could replace the shards with something new.

She rounded the corner and looked down the hallway. 5-C. Front of the building, one bedroom, one bath – she remembered reading the description. Considering she had never been to New York City before they arrived yesterday, it was a big step renting an apartment on blind faith. But she knew that Sam and Kurt wouldn't steer them wrong. Of course, she thought, as she twisted the doorknob and walked into the apartment, it would really help if Sam and Kurt were actually there to help with the move.

“Marley!” Jake exclaimed, taking her into his arms and nuzzling at the top of her head. He planted tiny little kisses at the center of her scalp, and she felt the butterflies tingle in her stomach. “Isn't this place great?”

She looked around. It had four intact walls, no visible signs of water damage, and while the floor was a little scuffed here and there, it was infinitely better than the apartment her and her mother had shared before they moved to Lima. So. “Looks great,” she said, setting the box down on the floor. “I thought Sam and Kurt were coming over to help? Along with their friend Santana and her friend?”

“Here we are!” a loud voice called out from behind them. Kurt embraced Marley and shook Jake's hand, while Sam gave each of them a nod and a broad grin. “Sorry, our taxi got caught in traffic.”

“Where are Santana and – Dani, you said her name was?” Marley asked.

“They're on their way up.” As if on cue, they could hear the laughter of two girls ringing out in the hallway. “They just like to – take their time, you know,” Kurt continued. He lowered his voice to a whisper and leaned in toward Marley and Jake. “Dani makes Santana mushy, just as a fair warning.”

“I'll expect nothing less,” Marley said, straightening up as Santana – she recognized her from when she came to Lima a couple years back – and who she presumed to be Dani walked into the apartment. “Hey, welcome to our apartment!”

“It smells like drunk mothballs in here,” Santana said, her face contorted into a grimace. “Kurt, why did you get them an apartment that smells like my aunt's house?” She walked over to the window and flung it upwards and open. “That is -” A garbage truck passed by outside, and the smell of fresh garbage wafted into the apartment. “- _so_ not better.” She slammed the window. “It's like damned if you do and damned if you don't and you're living in one of the forgotten rings of Hell.”

“Well, _I_ thought it was nice,” Jake said, throwing up his hands and sitting down on the floor.

Dani walked over to the window and placed her hand on Santana's arm as the two looked out the window. “Babe, I think you need to calm down. It's Jake and Melissa -”

“It's _Marley_ ,” Marley interjected, sitting down next to Jake and leaning her head onto his shoulder. “You know, like the dog? Woof?”

“Oh! I'm so sorry. Marley. Of course, you're right. Of course you're right, because it's your name and you'd know your own name, and oh my God. Marley. It's Jake and _Marley_ 's first apartment together,” Dani said, “and they should be able to enjoy it.”

“I still say that this neighborhood is misnamed,” Santana muttered under her breath as she turned around, easing and relaxing into Dani's touch. “By all rights, _this_ is Hell's Kitchen.”

“That may be, but people do live in Hell's Kitchen, after all,” Dani said, patting Santana's arm.

“Am I the only one who thought that was just a TV show with a British guy yelling at people?” Sam looked around the room as he asked the question. Only blank expressions greeted him. “No? Just me? Okay then.”

“So, wait, I know Kurt, and I know Sam, but how do all of you know each other?” Dani asked. “And are there more of you where you came from?”

Kurt laughed. “Are you saying you want to hear the whole sordid story? This could take a while, considering we're going back to sophomore year...”

“Nah, just, like, how you all know each other.” She rocked backwards and looked expectantly at Kurt.

“Or – wait, how did you two meet, anyway?” Marley asked, turning to Santana and Dani. “Because I think Dani's the only one of us who was never in New Directions. Otherwise I think I'd have recognized her name from all the gossip.”

“Oh my God, your club name was _seriously_ Nude Erections?” Dani let out a short series of laughs. She turned to Santana, still laughing, “No wonder you -”

“Yeah, and that's why I never told you the name before,” Santana said, laughing. “Thanks, Marley, for that. No, but this weird director guy who clearly never sounded things out in his life unless it was the words to an ancient Journey track named us. No voting allowed.”

“Ouch. Harsh. Anyway, so, how is it that you two -” Dani pointed to Sam and Kurt, “ended up finding an apartment for these two -” she pointed to Jake and Marley, “in the Big Apple?”

“Should I start?” Kurt asked. “Considering I was the first 'Nude Erection' in the bunch.”

“That's _way_ too much information about you and Sam's sex life,” Dani said, wrinkling her nose. “But...continue, I guess.”

“So there were a bunch of us show choir nerds back in Lima, Ohio -”

“And Santana,” Santana interjected. “Because I was never a show choir nerd.”

“ _And Santana_ ,” Kurt continued. “Who was clearly never, ever a show choir nerd, despite the fact that she went to Nationals with us twice and could pull off a killer solo with her eyes closed.”

“That's my girl,” Dani said, pride shining through her words.

“Santana joined shortly after the first group of us did, and then Sam transferred in the next year, and the three of us – and the rest of the group, of course – were a part of it for the next two years, before Santana and I graduated. I moved to New York City shortly after graduation, and Santana followed not long after.”

“You're making it sound like I'm a damn beagle or something,” Santana muttered. “I don't just follow you everywhere.”

“No, but you do tend to end up places where I am, so,” Kurt continued. “It's not a bad thing. I like having you around.”

“Something that I think only you and Dani can say.”

“Yeah, well, we're clearly the two most important people in the world,” Dani said. “The fabulous best friend and the sexy girlfriend, what could be better?” She beamed, and Kurt smiled, and Santana had to allow a smile to twitch at the corners of her face. “Anyway, continue. What about Jake and Marley? Where do they fit in?”

“We're getting there. Anyway, so this might be a better area for Sam to talk, because I've only ever met Jake and Marley a couple of times before today,” Kurt said.

“Okay, well, life was clearly going to suck at McKinley without Kurt and Santana and the rest of the graduates,” Sam said. “But we got these two new awesome recruits in Marley and Jake. Marley has killer pipes, and Jake has killer moves -”

“Which he quickly put to use to score a date with Marley, I might add,” Jake said, wrapping his arms around Marley and holding her close to him. “Because as soon as he saw her, he knew he was in deep trouble.”

Marley scooted into his side and ran her hand over his shoulder. “In fairness to me, have you _seen_ him? He was by far the hottest guy in Glee.”

“I'd beg to differ, considering you had Sam there,” Kurt said. “But your point's taken, although I must disagree with it wholeheartedly.”

“- And we might not have won Nationals again while I was there, but when I graduated, Jake and Marley were still going strong,” Sam continued.

“And we haven't stopped,” Marley said. “There was even a chain of gossip last year where the rest of the club was putting bets on how long it would take Jake to propose to me after graduation.”

“And? Has he?” Dani asked. “I don't see a ring on your finger.”

“Well, when we graduated, I asked her if she'd rather get married or move out of Lima,” Jake said. “And she's got killer pipes, as Sam said, and I really feel like she has the talent to make a play at this town.”

“I did _not_ want to be stuck in Lima for the rest of my life and always wonder 'what if,'” she said, throwing her head back into Jake's shoulder. “I love Jake. More than anything. I just – I didn't want there to be any regrets.”

“And it's not like I was going to do anything besides maybe find some construction crew in Lima and get a job there, so I figured I'd join her out here.”

“Dude, I should totally hook you up with my agent,” Sam said. “You would have a killer look for the fashion market. Your bone structure is out of this world.”

“Is that supposed to be a compliment? Uh, thanks,” Jake said. “I was thinking that I'd just find some place that needed a new guy on the construction crew and work my way in there, but if you're offering...”

“Hell yeah, I'm offering,” Sam said. “I'll call him tomorrow, let him know that you're in town. He always likes seeing fresh faces in the industry. Maybe the three of us can grab lunch sometime soon and talk about getting you some test shots.”

Marley craned her neck to look up at Jake. “My boyfriend, the male model? Sounds sexy,” she said. “I still need to find a job too.”

“Don't worry about that,” Santana said, “I already told my boss that I knew of someone who could a. belt out all the Broadway hits and b. needed a job like yesterday. You start on Monday.” She looked at Marley and narrowed her eyes. “Important question: how do you feel about red polyester?”

“I – like it? I guess? I have never had to form an opinion on it before, but it's better than ill-fitting clothes from the thrift store. Thank you so, _so_ much,” Marley said, standing and hugging Santana close. Santana had a bewildered expression on her face, but hugged Marley back, patting her back. “I didn't expect you to do this for me. Considering, you know, I haven't seen you since sophomore year -”

“Stop worrying so much. You're good with Sam and Kurt, therefore, you're good with me. I trust their taste. And I'd not count it out as being better than your Goodwill finds just yet."

“And if you're good with Santana, you're good with me too,” Dani said, hugging Marley. “Okay, so, you two were the nauseatingly cute couple in high school that no one can decide if they want to be or want to be slapped, and Sam, Kurt and Santana were a couple years ahead of you and got out here to the city. Santana started work at the diner, she met up with me, and you know, I find her completely irresistible. She's the Ellen to my Portia.”

“Damn right we are,” Santana said, slinging her arm over Dani's shoulder and side-hugging her. “Except even better, because, well, look at us. We just kick ass in every way.”

Kurt snorted. Dani leaned into Santana's embrace and continued her earlier train of thought by saying, “I think I'm all caught up now."

Sam muttered a long string of something unintelligible, and Kurt turned to him. “What did you say?” he asked, tilting his head as he asked the question. “I couldn't quite catch that.”

“I said that you were the Rose to my Doctor,” Sam said, “and that I'd take you through time and space with me in my TARDIS.”

“References I don't get,” Jake said, and Marley shook her head, as if it made no sense to her either.

Sam looked aghast at their reaction. “Things that are going to happen now that you two are here: Doctor Who marathons. Marley would love Amy. They're totally Rory and Amy, aren't they, Kurt?” Kurt nodded his head at this comparison, and Sam continued. “And Dani and Santana are Madame Vastra and Jenny. Minus the alien part.”

“Santana's totally an alien, though,” Dani said, with a wicked grin. At Santana's expression of pure horror, she elaborated. “Because she's out of this world amazing – she does this thing, with her tongue, and it -”

“Things I _really_ didn't need to know about Santana, okay,” Kurt said, shaking as he laughed. He held the sides of his stomach. “You don't want to know about our sex life, I don't want to know about yours either. Deal?”

“Deal.”

“Hey,” Marley said, interrupting the conversation. “Not to be a buzzkill or anything, but we do still have boxes downstairs and unless Jake and I can live on dishes alone, I think we need to do a little grocery shopping...”

“And it's beginning to get late, and I'm hungry,” Jake said. “I don't know about any of you, though.”

The five others turned to each other and nodded enthusiastically. “I know a little place a few blocks over that serves good burgers,” Sam said. “How about we go there? Officially welcome you two to New York in style.”

“I don't think Joe's Burger Joint is really something that I'd consider 'style,' considering they quite obviously lack a Michelin star,” Kurt said, “but your point is well taken. And they do have good food. So,” he turned to Jake and Marley and extended his hand to them. “Boxes, then burgers. How does that sound?”

“That sounds great. And we can finish the conversation there,” Marley said, standing up and leading the way out the door.

* * *

About an hour later – after all the boxes, as well as what little furniture they had, were taken up to their apartment, the six of them traipsed over to Joe's Burger Joint. They piled into a circular booth in the corner; Marley laid her head on Jake's shoulder, Dani squeezed Santana's hand, and Sam nudged playfully at Kurt's foot under the table.

“So, how does it feel to be official New Yorkers?” Sam asked, swishing his straw in his milkshake. “Okay, even if your boxes are still all packed and you haven't actually slept a night in your apartment yet.”

Marley looked up at Jake and smiled. “I don't think it has really sunk in yet. I can't believe this is all happening.”

Santana swiped a cheese fry away from Dani's plate and popped it in her mouth. “You're suffering from what we call PLD. You'll get over it about the time you witness your first mugging.” She grinned.

“PLD?” Marley arched an eyebrow and bit her lip nervously.

“Post-Lima Disorder. You're this new girl in the big city, never lived anywhere but Podunk, Ohio her entire life. And now you're going to get to see that there's a whole big world out there that bears very little resemblance to that world.”

“She's right,” Kurt said. “We have a little club though of former Lima residents- transplants, you could say. Me, Sam, Santana, and now you two, if you want to join.”

“Does joining involve weird blood rituals in abandoned factory warehouses?” Jake asked, patting Marley's hand as if to calm her nerves somewhat.

“No, but it does involve Friday night dinner, and then usually either a movie back at our apartment or sometimes, Kurt finds something really awesome to do,” Sam said, his eyes glowing. “Like, we took the subway and walked around Chinatown one night and checked out all the neat stores there. It was _really_ cool.”

Kurt beamed at the compliment. “This week, it's karaoke at Chorus. Something a little more low-key, but still a lot of fun. You two in? I'd love a chance to get to hear your voices properly, see where your strengths are, that kind of thing.”

Marley and Jake exchanged looks and nodded their assent to each other. “Yeah, sure. That sounds awesome,” Marley said. “Like, I haven't sung since graduation and Mr. Schuester had me sing that 'friends forever' song up on stage.”

“Things that are going to change on Monday,” Santana said. She glanced up, and saw the waiter coming with trays full of their food. “Ooh, looks like our food is here. God, it feels so good to go out to a restaurant and not be the one serving the food. You forget the little things like that.” She beamed at the waiter as he placed the plates in front of each of them in turn.

“Thank you again for that, by the way,” Marley said, picking up her burger and taking a tentative bite out of it. “I wasn't really expecting it.”

“That's how Santana does nice things,” Kurt said. “She doesn't like people expecting her to do nice things, so she only does them when no one expects them.”

“And then I'm a snarky bitch the other twenty three hours and fifty eight minutes of the day,” Santana said, taking a sip of her soda. “But as I told you before, you're good with these two, you're good with me. So,” she put her chin in her hands and looked at Marley's face. “You're a little fresh-faced for this town, but I can show you a few tips with an eyeliner brush that would make your eyes pop. And Jake's too, for that matter.”

“Are you going to make my girlfriend over so that I barely recognize her anymore?” Jake asked with a laugh. “Because I like my Marley the way that she is.”

“You're sweet, Puckerman. Which is to say that you're nothing like your brother, except I can totally see the mischievous glint in your eye that tells me that you are,” Santana said. “I bet he's wild in bed.”

“How did you know?” Marley asked, a blush blooming across her face at Santana's words.

“Because I know things,” she said, taking another, longer sip and winking at Dani. “Believe me, I have a sixth sense when it comes to sex.”

“I thought the sixth sense was about seeing ghosts,” Sam said, shaking his head. “I'm so confused.”

“Your sixth sense might be about ghosts, but mine's about sexuality, and that's why you and I would never, ever have worked out, even if it wasn't for my latent lesbianism and you not knowing what the hell you wanted,” Santana said. “I should have just hooked you up with Kurt back in the day. Would have saved us all a lot of time and confusion.” Marley's blush grew an even more fierce red, and Santana nodded in her direction. “And Marley here is the perfect example of the girl who wants to appear good, but she has a secret naughty side that only Jake knows about. Whips? Leather? No, don't tell me, I don't really want to know.”

Her entire face glowed a bright crimson, and she ducked her head into Jake's shoulder to hide it. “I -”

“Look, there's nothing _wrong_ with it. We're among friends here. Friends who won't judge you no matter how hard you screw up. Or screw. So, relax,” Santana said.

The rest of the dinner passed in a relatively companionable silence. Finally, as Marley swallowed the last bite of her food and pushed her plate back away from her, Dani spoke. “Do we want to do anything else tonight, or save it all for Chorus on Friday?”

Marley took her phone out from her purse and looked at the time. “Honestly, I'd love to, but Jake and I have a lot of _unpacking_ to do,” she said, drawing out the word unpacking for longer than was absolutely necessary. Santana's amused expression, and Jake's widened eyes, showed that the gesture hadn't gone unnoticed.

“That's right,” Sam said. “And I was going to show you that movie that you have been dying to see. You know. The one. With the, uh, people. Doing the thing.”

“I'm so proud. Or maybe I'm horrified, but I'm so proud. You're all ditching Dani and I to have sex.” Santana mimed wiping a tear from her eye, turned to Dani and offered her a grin. “Shall we do the same?”

“Of course. You really think I'm going to say no to sex with my stunning girlfriend?” Dani said, taking her hand in hers and scooting out from the booth.

“See you on Friday?” Kurt said, taking the receipt up to the cashier.

The other four – minus Sam – all voiced their assent, and walked out into the night air.

Sam turned to Kurt and ducked his head to his shoulder as they followed behind in short suit. “Hey,” he said. “We're finally alone again.” He pressed a kiss against the soft skin of Kurt's neck as they continued to walk along the sidewalk.

“I thought we would never be alone again,” Kurt said, wrapping an arm around Sam's waist and holding him close as they walked. “I love our friends, I do, but sometimes I just want to have time with my boyfriend.”

“Me too. Did you really buy that I have a movie you have been dying to watch, or was I blatantly transparent in there?”

“Oh, I figured you didn't have A Very Long Engagement, unless you've been reading my blogs about my recent Jeunet obsession,” Kurt said. “Unless you have been.” He narrowed his eyes and looked up at Sam.

“How else am I going to work on my Christmas list for you?” It was innocent, but belied a certain amount of gravitas. There was a future planned. What Kurt didn't know is that he had a ring picked out at the jewelry store – he was saving his paychecks from the various shoots he had been doing lately, a little here and a little there. It was adding up to a nice fat bank account balance that would soon be put toward a ring. It sparkled in all the same ways Kurt did. Well, it would, if Kurt was a diamond, instead of a human. And that ring was going to give them a definable future – he just had to wait for it.

“It's _July_.”

“And I like to get the most for my money.” Sam laughed and kissed Kurt's neck again. “No,” he said. “I don't have that movie, or any other by him, although I've been looking on Amazon, but I do have a body that some have said is a wonder to look at. So I hope you're not disappointed.”

“ _I_ told you that. And of course I'm not, but if we don't hurry back to the apartment, with you kissing my neck like that, I'm going to take you into an alleyway and -”

“And do what? Fuck me against the side of a dumpster? You're the one who likes clean sheets and romantic mood lighting, so that really doesn't sound like you.”

“That's my point. You're turning me on at a very inconvenient time, and it's frustrating me, and oh my God, can we just get a taxi and stop this charade?” Kurt walked over to the side of the sidewalk and waved down a passing taxi. “There. Now we can get home, and we can take care of this _pressing_ issue.”

A short taxi ride through the streets of the city later, they took the flights of stairs two at a time to get into their apartment, and as they closed the door behind them, Sam's lips descended onto Kurt's. He nipped at Kurt's lower lip, and Kurt let out a short sigh of relief. He tangled his hands in Sam's hair, dragging him backwards toward the bedroom.

“Thank God we don't have roommates now that Santana moved out to be with Dani,” Sam said, breathing heavily as they parted for a brief second. “Because I intend to make you hit every high note in the register tonight.” He hurriedly unbuttoned Kurt's shirt and pressed his palms flat against Kurt's chest, kneading his fingers against his stomach. “Need you so badly, Kurt.”

“Need you too,” Kurt said, and it was almost a whine. “You were tormenting me out there. Making me feel so good, and there was no way to release it, and you -”

“I know,” Sam said, leaning Kurt over the bed and brushing his hair back with his hands. He laid Kurt on the bed and began dotting a trail of blazing-hot but tiny kisses from Kurt's jaw, trailing down his chest, ending right above the waistband of his skinny jeans. “I know. But we're going to take care of that, now.” He undid the clasp on Kurt's jeans and pushed them down his legs, and grasped Kurt's bulging cock in his hands. “So good,” he said, leaning forward and brushing the tip of his tongue against Kurt's slit, before taking him inside his mouth.

He slowly took him in, more and more, swirling his tongue around Kurt's balls and swallowing around him. Every time was like the first time with Kurt, except that he knew the ways to make him shudder with utter arousal every time. It wasn't fumbling and awkward anymore, except when his hand slid and created a cascade of friction against Kurt's thigh, and Kurt would let out that little whining noise with his lips, and it would be a moment of pure perfection.

Which is to say, that he made perfection happen as often as he could.

Sometimes, multiple times in one night.

He was kind of talented that way, but he couldn't have done it without Kurt. Kurt was kind of like the muse in his life – the inspiration behind it all.

He felt Kurt's fingers knot in his hair, pulling him down onto him, and he increased the push and pull of his lips against Kurt's skin. With one hand, he reached up to brush his fingertips against one incredibly aroused nipple, and with the other, he traced wavy patterns around Kurt's thighs. In and out. Increased suction, and he slid his tongue across Kurt's slit again and tasted the first drops of pre-cum. He was close. Even without tasting it, he knew it all the same. That was the advantage of this not being the first time anymore, because he knew Kurt's body like it was his own.

“ _Sam_ -” was all that Kurt could choke out before he squeezed his eyes closed, and Sam felt a torrent rushing through his mouth. He swallowed it down eagerly; it had been a learning experience at first, but once he grew to appreciate it, there was no way he could ever go back. As he popped off and slid back up Kurt's stomach to kiss him softly again, Kurt stared at him with heavily lidded eyes. “My turn,” he said. “Going to make you feel as good as you made me feel.” He fumbled with Sam's jeans clasp, too eager to take the time to think the motion through. Finally, he had them undone and around Sam's ankles, and Sam kicked them off to rest at the foot of the bed.

Kurt slowly took Sam inside his mouth, gently licking tiny little stripes everywhere as he did so. Sam bit his lip, and ran his foot along the side of Kurt's calf, up and down, creating tiny little goosebumps in its wake. Sam lolled his head back, creating an arch to his form as he did so, and thrust upward into Kurt's mouth. And Kurt obliged, slowly descending lower and lower until he had all of Kurt inside him, and he bobbed up and down, his tongue still doing that infuriatingly hot stripe thing along the sides of his cock, and Sam thought that he was going to explode.

And maybe he'd explode into a thousand tiny little Sam-shaped pieces, but even if he did, at least he knew that Kurt would be there to pick up the pieces and reassemble him into something whole again. That was kind of the magic of what Kurt was in his life.

And magic really was what Kurt did with his tongue. It was – there was no other word for it. Sublime, perhaps. He inwardly thought that in a previous life, Kurt must have been a magician. Maybe Houdini himself. Like, a sex Houdini. His sex Houdini. That was the only way to explain it.

“Kurt,” he said, in a half-strangled gasp, “p- _please_.” He loved that this was the way that he felt, wanting to do everything to release for him. He felt his orgasm shoot out of him, and all the while, Kurt was still humming and swallowing as if there was nothing to it other than that.

It was kind of really hot.

Kurt popped off, kissing the tip of his cock and laying back flat against the bed. He leaned over and kissed Sam, purring self-satisfactorily. “You're _good_ ,” he said, as he curled his form around Sam's side.

“Look who I'm talking to!”

“Huh. Guess I _am_ pretty good too.” He batted his eyelashes and pressed an open-mouthed kiss to Sam's shoulder.

Sam turned on his side and threw his arm over Kurt, pulling him closer and rubbing against him. Kurt's breath caught in his throat, as he increased the friction between them, hitching his leg over Sam's and drawing him even closer, so that they were intertwined in every way – body, mind and soul. Sam's lips hovered over Kurt's, brushing against them and teasing them open under his touch. “Hey,” he whispered into Kurt's mouth.

“Hi, yourself,” Kurt replied. He broke the kiss to stare deep into Sam's eyes; Sam swore that he could see love – and a bit of lust – reflected in his eyes, and knew that his own would show the same. In that way, Kurt was kind of like an awesome mirror.

“You want me?” Sam asked, dropping his hand to Kurt's crotch and rubbing his hands along the length of Kurt's cock. “Because I'm wanting you.”

“Of course.” Kurt lolled his head back as Sam brushed tender kisses along the base of his throat. “When have I ever not wanted you?” He jerked his hips up in an involuntary motion, seeking contact with Sam's chest as he moved further and further down, until his mouth was perilously close to his cock again.

Except, this time, he didn't stop there.

He descended lower, spreading Kurt's legs apart and disentangling them from his. In one hand, he cupped Kurt's ass, feeling the fine flesh flutter beneath his fingers. With the other, he danced his fingers along the expanse between his cock and his asshole, teasing at the skin. Kurt's cock twitched and jumped in reply. Sam didn't just have a good mouth. His whole body was so perfectly in tune with Kurt's that he knew just how to make him respond in all the best ways. The little palpitation when Sam would run the tip of his finger along a particularly sensitive patch of skin. The dilation of his pupils when Sam's hand ran through his ass crack. The way that his toes curled and uncurled, brushing against his calf, driving him further and further into insanity – possessed by a desire to only have him.

He picked Kurt up, and pressed his lips to his asshole. His tongue slid out of his mouth, and teased him open, working at the muscles, meshing them in motion with his lips. He knew there was a spot – not the prostate, but another spot that was uniquely Kurt's – that if he could just hit it, he'd unleash a little yelp that would send shivers coursing up and down his spine.

“Oh!” Kurt yelped, and Sam smiled against him. Perfect. Just on cue, complete with shivers that wracked his spine in all the best ways. He continued his tongue motions – swirling and pushing against the muscles, trying to coax more yelps out of Kurt's beautiful mouth – which he did, over and over again.

After a little bit longer of this back and forth, he felt satisfied with the progress he had made in this regard, and slid out. He placed a small kiss to the skin just above Kurt's hole, and took his cock in his hands. “Are you ready?”

“Oh my God, I've been ready since we were at the restaurant. I'd have taken you into the restroom and sat on you in there, if we could have gotten away from them,” Kurt said, almost rolling his eyes. “Sam, _please_.”

“Just making sure,” Sam said, pressing forth into Kurt – slow, steady, methodical. He rocked his body against Kurt's, slowly moving further and further in. Kurt bucked his hips onto Sam, trying to draw more of him inside. More. That was what they wanted – more of each other, because they could never get enough. He locked his fingers with Kurt's, intertwining them, making them so that he was drawing deep from the connection that they shared.

They had been at this enough times before – they knew how each other moved, and their movements flowed in tandem lockstep – Kurt went in, Sam went out, and they were caught in between with each other in their grasp. Sam pressed sloppy, open-lipped kisses to Kurt's chest, teasing at a nipple with the tip of his tongue, making them twitch under his control. Kurt arched his back. “So good,” he murmured, knotting his fingers in the tendrils of Sam's hair. “So, so good.” It was the simplest declaration he could make: they were good. This was good. Everything about this was good, and perfect, and practiced in that perfection.

Sam's other hand dropped to massage at the dent in Kurt's hip, caressing the expanse of skin there, tracing an errant freckle with the tip of his thumb. He gradually moved his hand over to cup at Kurt's cock, which was hardening at a frantic pace with what Kurt was doing to him. He squeezed at Kurt's balls, tenderly massaging them, and Kurt let out a keen yelp. “Oh my _God,_ Sam,” he said, between gritted teeth. “Warn a guy, okay? Because – oh my God. You – your hands. _Sam_.”

Sam grinned and kissed Kurt tenderly. “You rang?” he asked, his voice light and airy as he spoke.

“Y-Yeah. I -” Kurt's breath hitched from under him, and he looked at Sam with wide, dilated eyes and a droopy smile. “I -”

“Shhh,” Sam said, in a harsh, ragged whisper, kissing him again – long and languid, with lots of passion stored between them. “Shhh, Kurt, let it come.”

And it did, with a shuddering gasp from Kurt, in white, sticky rivulets cascading across Sam's chest in messily delineated zigzag stripes. The sensation stirred Sam's own, and he felt himself filling up Kurt, bathing in the feeling of what he had just done. They stayed locked like that for a few moments, riding out the euphoria of orgasm together, before Sam slid out from Kurt and laid down next to him. He rested his head on Kurt's shoulder.

“You just – oh my God, how do you do that?” Kurt asked, his eyes sparkling and dancing as he spoke, refusing to break eye contact with Sam all the while.

“We're magic together,” Sam said. “That's how. It's magic.”

“Well, duh.” Kurt closed his eyes and pressed a sleepy kiss to the top of Sam's shoulder. “We had a long day helping Jake and Marley move into their new apartment, and then you just rocked my world with your magic touch, and -” He yawned and kissed Sam's shoulder again. “And I'm tired.”

“I am too,” Sam said, putting a hand over his mouth to yawn. Yawning was contagious – first Kurt, then him. It created a symphony of yawning around him. “Good night, Kurt. I love you.”

“Love you too,” Kurt said, nestling into Sam's side and falling asleep like that. “Love you too.”

* * *

Jake and Marley walked up the stairs to their new apartment, giggling and laughing. Marley rocked into Jake's side, looking up at him with love in her eyes. “Wait a minute,” Jake said, as they got to the landing at their floor. “Stay right there. I have a surprise for you.”

“Okay?” Marley asked, standing right where she was.

Jake walked ahead to the door and turned the key in the lock, before walking back to Marley. “C'm'ere,” he murmured, kneeling down. One hand found the crease behind her knees, while the other supported the small of her back. “I've only ever seen this in the movies,” he admitted, as he stood up with her in his arms, shifting her weight so that he could get a better grasp on her.

For her part, Marley threw her arms around Jake's neck once she realized what he was trying to do, and looked up at him. She trusted him that he'd never let her fall – she trusted that she was safe in his grasp, and she knew that she was. “I think it is _incredibly_ romantic that you want to carry me over the threshold into our new apartment,” she said.

“That's kind of the point of this,” he said, walking with her in his arms. He fumbled with the doorknob, but finally got it open. As he walked into the apartment and shut the door behind himself, he somehow managed to get the locks on the door locked behind him while still holding onto Marley – who had cooperatively shifted in his arms as to aide in the door locking maneuver.

With quick, broad strides, he crossed the apartment to where their bed sat made – Marley faintly remembered Dani helping her make it before they left. Dani had winked at her as they set the two pillows side by side with each other, and the meaning of the wink came to her full force in this moment. She was no longer sleeping in her childhood twin bed with the bubblegum pink sheets anymore. This was her and Jake's bed, complete with new flannel sheets from Sheets 'n' Things back in Lima.

They were sharing things now. A bed, an apartment, a life. And the thought of all of that and what it meant thrilled some inner core of her being.

Jake set her down on the bed gently, her hair cascading against the pillow, and he laid down next to her.

Marley curled into Jake's side and stared up at him. “We're in our own apartment,” she said breathlessly, breaking the magical silence of the moment. “We are in our own apartment. It's crazy that I can actually say that and have it be true.”

“I know,” Jake said, folding his arm around her waist protectively – almost as if a reflex, like this was what he was meant to be doing all along. “It seems like last week we were in Lima and you had just heard from Sam that he found a place.”

“That's because it _was_ a week ago. Week ago last Tuesday. I called you all excited with the news.”

“And I almost dropped my phone in shock when you told me.”

“Why?” She moved her hand to place it squarely on his chest. “I knew that Sam would come through. He's good with his promises like that.”

“I didn't think that it would be this fast,” he said. “I'm ecstatic that it did, I just thought we would have to wait longer before we could get out here. And I didn't want to wait. I wanted my girl and I in this city. Together.”

“Together,” she repeated his last word back to him, “and oh-so-definitely alone. Being alone together is so much better than being alone apart.”

“Yep.” He pulled her closer to him, almost so that she was flung across him. “And you know what this means,” he said.

“Well, you already carried me over the threshold tonight,” she said, her eyes dancing with the undercurrent of what the night had brought thus far. “So that's step one of the dashing groom checklist taken care of already.”

“So, I'm the dashing groom now, eh?” Jake asked, letting his hand flutter up the inside of her t-shirt. “Does that make you my beautiful, blushing bride?”

She giggled at the sensation of his fingers tickling at the edge of her rib cage. “Yes,” she said, between bouts of giggles. “And one day, I really will be.”

“As far as I can see, you already are. To me, at least.”

“I agree,” she said, reaching up to brush at his face, skating the tips of her fingers along the contours of his jawline “I'm going to fall asleep in your arms, wake up in your arms, see you pour your Cheerios -”

“- They're Lucky Charms,” Jake said. “But, please, continue.”

“- Before we go off to work, and I'll get to see you when I come home from a long day at Santana's diner, and it's everything that I've been wanting for so long finally coming true.”

“I know, babe,” he said. “I've been dreaming of this night for a really long time now.”

“How sure were you that tonight was going to be in some motel room in Vegas after seeing alien Elvis?”

“There are a lot of ways I've pictured our wedding night,” Jake said, winding his hand around to the small of her back, resting there. “But I never imagined it in Vegas. I knew you would want something more than that.”

“As long as I have you, I don't care where, or how, or any of that,” she said, “but maybe you can show me some of how you pictured our wedding night?” She bit her lip and looked at him, almost daring him to make a move toward her.

“Well, I imagine you'd have had a really long white dress on,” he said, looking her body up and down. She shivered under the intensity of his gaze. “So already, I don't have to undo thousands of infuriating buttons, so that's a step in the right direction.” He shifted positions so that he was almost hovering over her, and he pushed the flimsy fabric of her t-shirt up, exposing her stomach. He reached up further, and fiddled with the straps of her bra. “But you still have a bra on, so, there's that for complexity,” he said.

She took the hem of her t-shirt between her fingers and pushed it up over her head, and Jake took it from her grasp, casting it to the side. He managed to unhook her bra, and she shook her arms to relieve herself of it, exposing all of her to him. Her chest wasn't a foreign sight – there were things that neither of their mothers had to ever know were done in their homes while they were off at work, things that tinged Marley's cheeks with the faintest edge of a blush to remember.

He buried his face inside her cleavage, feeling the warmth of her breasts surrounding his face, pressing kisses to the exposed skin – he turned first to one breast and laved it with attention, twirling his tongue around a pert nipple before doing the same to its twin across the way. Marley writhed under his touch, seeking any further stimulation from him – practically begging for it, without using words, just her motions. “Marley,” he said hoarsely. “Marley, Marley, Marley.”

She drank up hearing him say her name, when he was so clearly turned on – she could feel it too, his hardened cock digging into her thigh. “So,” she said, barely keeping her composure, “you would get my bra off, and then?”

“Well, you would be wearing a dress, as I said,” he said, “so I'd push it off you and down to the floor.” Instead, he took his hand and undid the button clasp and zipper on her jeans, and pushed them down her legs. She kicked at them. She wanted the offending clothing off her, like ten minutes ago. She didn't want to wear them any longer. Not when Jake was clearly wanting her more than anything. “And then,” he said, hooking his finger into the hip of her panties, “I'd take these off too.” He dragged them down her legs, following the same path that the jeans had just blazed seconds before.

“It's _so_ not fair that I'm naked and you still have all your clothes on in this fantasy,” she said, her voice mock-indignant with falsified rage. A slight draft blew through the apartment, and she curled into him, seeking his warmth.

“Patience, my darling Marley,” he said, allowing his hands to roam over her stomach, occasionally dipping to graze along her hips. “All good things come to those who wait. Isn't that what you told me once?”

Oh, so he remembered that too. She simultaneously grinned and blushed at the memory of their first time, all of her built-up bravado that'd melted away the second he touched her, almost as if he was touching her skin for the very first time – and maybe in some ways, he had been. “Jake, I just want to touch you too,” she said, feeling the sensation of warming butterflies fluttering inside her soul. “Please.”

“And then I'd take off my jacket -” he said, almost ignoring what she said as he mimed the action with his own two hands, “and then I'd take off my shirt -” He took off his shirt and threw it somewhere behind him, probably landing roughly around the same area as Marley's jeans.

She bit the corner of her lip and stared at him, taking what she saw before her into account. “Oh,” she said, “I'd run my hands over you. Feel you as you're feeling me.”

“Go right ahead,” he said. “While you're groping my chest, I'd take off my pants and boxers,” he said, doing as he said, and her breath caught in her throat. God, he didn't know what he did to her. There was no way that he could know – except that he totally did, because she wasn't exactly shy about vocalizing it, at least when it was just the two of them. “And then,” he said, dipping his hand to coax between her legs, “I'd show you just what you're getting for the rest of your life.” She spread her legs for his hand, and he threaded his fingers through to her core. “My Marley.”

She nearly lost it right then. His hand toyed with her, flicking at her, making her itch to have more than just his fingers inside her. “Jake,” she said, in a mock-serious tone, “if you don't get in here – in me...”

“Patience,” he said, kissing her softly. “We have all night. We have the rest of our lives.”

“And I want the rest of our lives to start _right now._ ” She thrust downward, trying to take more of his fingers deeper inside her, trying to feel him engulf her with the fire that burned in her heart. “Please.”

“Oh, believe me, babe, it's just beginning,” he said, removing his hand. At her whimper in reply, he smirked. “You're getting what you want.”

“G-good.” Her breath caught on her words, and she threw an arm around his neck. She looked up at him, looking at her, and she was almost dizzy with fraught emotion. She couldn't believe that they were actually here, doing all this – it was the best feeling she had ever had in her life, and she knew that, as he said, it was just beginning. This was the first night of the rest of their lives.

As she remembered from an old song that she covered for her Regionals solo senior year, “ _forever's going to start tonight_.” And that was what was going to happen. Their forever was starting tonight in this apartment. In this bed. Right now. And as he slid into her, she stared at him, taking in his forms and features in the reflection of the streetlight outside. “I – oh,” she moaned. Whatever she was going to say was unimportant now. What she felt was what was important, and she bucked her hips, writhing, trying to take in as much of him as she could.

He thrust in gradual motions – _in, out, in, out_ – gradually burying himself deeper inside her, until she felt his balls slapping against the sensitized skin of her core. And once he had the depth, the gradual thrusts picked up speed – slow became steady became quick, and she ran her hands over his chest and dipped her head forward to kiss trails of steamy kisses to his chest.

Sparks shot out in front of her eyes, and she felt a surge – almost like a tidal wave inside her belly – rush forth, and almost at the same time, she felt Jake unload inside her. They were getting better at this synchronicity thing that they had going. They could almost do dual orgasms – which should be an Olympic event, come to think of it, and they would practice so long and so hard that they would be the gold medal team.

Take that, Michael Phelps.

He laid over her, kissing her face over and over again, feeling her warmth below him. “And _that_ is how I pictured our wedding night,” he said. “Even if we had to improvise a bit here.”

“Well, I for one think that it was a success, and I'd like to follow your blog for future ideas that you have. Especially if all your ideas make me feel that good.”

“You know they would,” he said, shifting down to rest against her side. He looked at her and smiled. “I can't believe we're really here. And my mother isn't going to be able to peek in and see you in my bed, wearing only my sheet.”

“Things for which I'm eternally grateful.” She paused for a moment and rested her chin on his shoulder, pressing a kiss to his cheek. “And now we sleep. Because it has been a really long day and I'm sore and exhausted from moving boxes.”

“If you had told me you were sore, I'd have given you a massage.”

“Maybe tomorrow,” she said, yawning and allowing her eyes to flutter closed. “Right now, I want to sleep. G'night.”

“G'night,” he said. “Love you.”

She muttered something against his shoulder that was indecipherable with the noticeable fatigue coloring every word of it, but he knew what it meant, without actually having to hear the words aloud – _I love you too_. He closed his eyes and breathed in the scent of her hair beneath him, and he felt like there was no more perfect way to sleep than this.

* * *

Friday night was Chorus night, and after a quick dinner at another local diner, the six trouped off in search of cheap karaoke. “So, how are you two adjusting to the city life?” Sam asked, as they stepped onto a street corner after crossing the street. “I know it's a lot different than what you're used to in Lima.”

“That's like saying that the Plaza is a lot different than some dumpy Super 8,” Santana said. “You can sleep in both places, but why would anyone who could choose choose the worse of the two? Seriously.”

Marley laughed and threaded her hand in with Jake's, clasping it tightly against her. “It's – well, a lot different.”

“Our neighbor likes to play opera music at four in the morning,” Jake said. “There are only so many times I can hear an aria and not want to stab something. Especially when Marley and I are trying to sleep.”

“Ouch,” Dani said. “That's rough. My first neighbor after I moved here – I swear he never slept. I'd hear him dragging his feet around the apartment any hour of the day.”

“Are you sure he wasn't dragging bodies?” Kurt asked. “That might explain it too.”

“So an insomniac serial killer in Brooklyn? I've heard of stranger things,” Dani said, with a laugh.

The rest of the walk to the karaoke bar passed with idle chit-chat. Once there, they settled in at a table and ordered a round of the cheesiest nachos on the menu and drinks all around. “So, who's going to sing first?” Santana asked. “Because I have this perfect song to sing to Dani, so if you all don't mind -”

“No, go ahead,” Kurt said. “I have one in mind for Sam too.”

“And I for Marley,” Jake said.

“Are we going to get to hear Marley sing, or are Dani and I going to have to wait until Monday?” Santana asked, resting her chin in her hands and looking pointedly at Marley.

“Maybe,” Marley said, gulping. She felt the tinges of her old shyness coming back at the thought. “It's one thing to do a song with New Directions, even a solo – another to get up and do karaoke in front of a bunch of people who don't know me.”

“You can do it,” Jake said, attempting to comfort her with his words, “but I'll sing first. Maybe that will help with your nerves.”

“Okay,” she said, smiling at Jake and patting his hand, as the three who had volunteered to sing got up and crossed the bar to find the sign-up sheet.

Sam reached across the table and held both Dani and Marley's hands. “Look, what I'm about to say – you can't tell Kurt that I'm telling you, okay?”

“Okay?” the girls said in unison.

Dani continued by saying, “what's up?”

“Okay, so, there's this ring that I've been saving up for at the jewelry store, and I just about have it paid for in full.”

“You're proposing to Kurt!” Dani said, a little louder than she intended. At Sam's look of consternation, she quieted down, “You _are_ proposing to Kurt, oh my God.”

“Yeah, and he doesn't have any idea. At least I don't think he does,” Sam said. “And I want this to be a really big surprise for him, so I want the two of you – and Jake and Santana too – to help me out with this, okay? So you can talk about it when you get home, but not a word to Kurt. Or else.”

“Or else what?” Kurt asked, sidling up next to Sam. “Not to eavesdrop on your clearly very important discussion with Dani and Marley.”

Sam leaned over and kissed Kurt firmly on the lips, almost as if to silence him. “Or else, I'll have to think of different ways of kissing you so that you forget you ever heard anything,” he said, as they broke apart.

“Your lips _are_ really soft,” Kurt said, almost as if in a daze from the unexpected kiss.

“Well, I figured Trouty Mouth's lips would be soft. They're like little pillows that the rest of his face just rests on,” Santana said. Dani turned to her with a blank expression. “What? I nicknamed him Trouty Mouth junior year. It's all good. But does he not look a little fishy-lipped to you?”

“I make it a habit of not studying guys' lips, you know,” Dani said. “Or anyone else's but yours.” She leaned up and pressed a soft kiss to the corner of Santana's lips, and smiled as she pulled away. “Because you're the best kisser I know.” Santana looped her arms around Dani's neck and pulled her in for a second, longer kiss.

The other four exchanged hidden smiles. Dani was definitely a softening influence on Santana – they could see it, despite the fact that she tried oh-so-hard to keep it hidden from view.

The group sat back and passed around the nacho platter, and listened as people sang their way through the current popular songs – with a cameo by vintage Madonna, in the form of “Like a Prayer” sung by a blonde girl in black spandex.

Finally, it was Santana's turn, and she stood up on stage and focused all of her attention on the table where her friends sat. She flipped her hair over her shoulder and fine-tuned her focus so that the only person in her range of sight was Dani. “This one is for you, Dani,” she said, tapping her foot as the instrumental accompaniment started.

She felt the words wash over her in a wave, and she sang each note clear and strong. “ _Puttin' my defenses up, 'cause I don't want to fall in love_...” She noticed Dani bobbing her head in motion to the music, and she felt every ounce of emotion that the words of the song conveyed. Even though they had been dating for a while, it still felt so fresh and so new that many of the same emotions applied then as they did now. “ _If I ever did that, I think I'd have a heart attack_.” As she finished the song with an additional flourish of runs, she threw her hands up in the air, soaking in the applause from everyone in the bar.

She bounded back up to where Dani was. Dani engulfed her in a hug, kissing a spot just below her ear – a spot that Dani knew would send butterflies reverberating through Santana's spine. “You were so good up there!” Dani exclaimed. “It was like watching my girlfriend the pop star.”

“Yeah, well, it was nothing big,” Santana said, popping a nacho in her mouth. “Your turn, Hummel. What's Sam going to get dedicated to him?”

“You'll see,” Kurt said, hiding a mischievous grin. “It isn't the most obvious choice, but, you'll see.” He walked up to the stage with a confident stride.

As he walked up, Sam turned to Jake and Santana. “I told Dani and Marley this, but I want you two to help me with my proposal for him, okay? I want it to be a big surprise.”

They nodded, and Santana smirked. “I knew you had something up your sleeve. Didn't know it was that exactly, but you have been acting like the cat who ate the damn canary all night, so I knew something was up.”

Sam laughed. “You're incredibly perceptive. Annoyingly so.”

“You know it.” She beamed and took Dani's hand in hers, sitting back to watch Kurt up on stage.

Kurt took the microphone in hand and started singing. “Sam, _come to me, in all your glamor and cruelty_ ,” he sang, and Sam couldn't tear his eyes away from the spectacle before him. Kurt knew how to command a stage, and this was something that he knew about him, but it was one thing to know it in theory and another entirely to see it in action like this. Kurt strode around with the microphone, singing a song that Sam vaguely recognized as being a Lady Gaga song. Kurt locked his gaze upon Sam, and pointedly sang, “ _Just do that thing that you do, because my love is you_.”

Sam felt his heart flutter. It was incredibly sexy to have a karaoke song – especially one that involved incredibly longing looks from Kurt – dedicated to him by his boyfriend. Soon to be fiance, if he had anything to say about it.

He couldn't tear his eyes from Kurt the rest of the time he was on the stage. It was as if his world at that moment consisted of him and that stage, and more specifically, the who that was on that stage.

And then it was Jake's turn. “I changed the words a little bit to this,” he said, and the audience tittered with laughter. “Because I want to tell my girl Marley something that she needs to hear.”

Sam and Dani looked at Marley, and Marley took a long sip of her soda to disguise her face – more specifically, the wide grin splayed across it at the public declaration that Jake had just given her. She knew that the song wasn't going to be anything bad, but she had no idea what he had up his sleeve. Especially if he had changed the words a little.

Jake sang, “ _I want you to love me, like I'm a hot pie_ ,” and Marley looked up from her glass, with a confused look on her face. She didn't recognize this song from the opening lyrics. And then, as he hit the chorus, the realization of what he was singing hit her at about the same moment. “ _Want to make you feel like the only girl in my world, like you're the only one I'll ever love._ ”

Marley about choked back tears. Even before the other night, she knew that they were talking a future – this whole move to New York City was just assuring their future – but to hear him proclaim as much in the words of a song that he had edited, it hit her a thousand times harder.

She hugged Jake close as he came back to the table, and he rocked her against him, and she knew that she was safe here in his arms, in a world where she was the only girl in his world. Now and forever.

The rest of the night, they sat there – occasionally ordering more nachos, talking about the singers and rating how they did after every performance. The couples swayed together, not wanting to part from each other – not even to have Sam, Marley or Dani get up to perform, like had been earlier discussed. The togetherness was what mattered.

* * *

They opened the door to their apartment, and almost immediately after the door closed behind them, Dani's hands reached out to cup Santana's face. She kissed her, tasting her lips – and a very faint taste of processed nacho cheese from Chorus – with her own. “You don't know how sexy you were up there tonight, babe,” she said. “If you ever became a pop star, I'd totally be your devoted groupie.”

“You would be so far above 'groupie' that it's not even funny,” Santana said, as she kissed Dani again, pressing her into the wall, hitching her up on her knee. “Like, all the other girls would want me, but you would be the one waiting in my hotel room for me.”

“Duh. In fancy lingerie too.” Dani's eyes lit up. “Ooh, that reminds me!”

“You bought me fancy lingerie? It's not even our anniversary. I hope it's silk, because lace is scratchy and makes it look like my First Communion dress gone horribly, horribly wrong. Which is _so_ not the thought process I want to be having while wearing provocative lingerie.”

“Not quite, but better,” Dani said, with a carefully-chosen laugh tinging her words. She allowed the shoulder of her t-shirt to drop, exposing her bra strap. A bolt of electric purple stood out against her pale skin.

“I don't recognize -” Santana's eyebrows knit together in a furrow of confusion. “ _Oh_. You bought some for yourself?”

“Yeah!”

“And just how is that better?” Santana asked. “Because you're the one who gets to wear it. Not me.”

“Yeah, but guess who gets to take it off me?” Dani said, bating her eyelashes flirtatiously at Santana. “Because I never undress alone when you're around.”

A light bulb of realization went off over Santana's head. “I get to unwrap you from it,” she said, sealing her lips over Dani's in a crushing kiss. She flicked her finger at the strap; it vibrated against Dani's skin with a visible thrum. She spun them around, still holding Dani there, and guided her back toward the bedroom.

As Dani's feet brushed the edge of the bed frame, she allowed herself to fall backward, landing on the pillowy -soft mattress ass-first. She looked up at Santana, and crooked her finger to invite her forward. Her pop star, her lover – her Santana, all rolled into one indescribable person. “Santana?” she asked, allowing her lips to form her name. “Do you like it?”

“I haven't gotten a chance to see more than the strap yet,” Santana said, tugging at Dani's shirt, trying to push the fabric in every direction at once as long as the direction was off. Finally, she succeeded, and she apprised Dani laying before her. The bra fit Dani like a dream, hugging every curve, swoop and nuance of her body like it was made exclusively for her. “Wow.” There were no words sufficient for this moment. She pursed her lips together. “Wow,” she echoed.

“Did I make you speechless?” Dani asked, with a teasing glint in her eyes. “I bought the matching panties too.”

“You better have,” Santana said, hooking her fingers through the belt loops of Dani's shorts and tugging them down. She saw the matching fabric, and had to bite back a full-on grin. Dani knew how to pick her lingerie, that much could be said – the panties were tiny, in all the ways that mattered, but still covered enough of her that she wasn't entirely exposed. Yet.

Dani rested the side of her head on her hand, and her elbow rested against the bed, and she looked at Santana again with a flirtatious gaze that belied a certain amount of lust. “Now that you've actually gotten a chance to see it, do you like it?”

Santana could no longer hide her grin, and she let it show across her face. “Yes. Wow.”

“You keep saying that. I must be very 'wow' to you.”

“Well, it keeps remaining true. You look -” Santana ran her finger over the under wire of the bra, feeling the swell of Dani's breast as she did so, “so amazing. And now,” she continued, letting her other hand fade in patterns down her side, resting on Dani's hip before cascading inward, “I'm going to take them off you.”

“Be my guest.”

Santana hooked her finger inside Dani's panties and let them slide down her legs, just so. Dani lifted her legs obediently and kicked at the offending fabric, trying to cast them as far away from her as what possible in the moment. Santana's hand slid to cup at Dani's core, sliding an index finger in – she was wet, that much was apparent, although their little game had gone on long enough that she'd have been more surprised had Dani _not_ been wet.

She buried her face in the bra and tugged at the fabric with her teeth, trying to move it out of the way so that she could get better access to every part of Dani. She kissed at the places where fabric didn't dare to cover, kissed at the places she could reach, and tried to reach those places she could not.

Dani's legs parted under Santana's touch, and Santana heard her let out a little cry of elation when her finger crooked just so, moving against the sides, stimulating her vulva under her touch all the while. “San – _tana_ ,” Dani said, breaking her name into two syllables, incredibly turned on and incapable of stringing together thoughts that didn't involve Santana's name on her lips constantly.

That was her cue. She stopped kissing at her breasts and instead, rested her head between Dani's legs. Her tongue flicked out, flicking at her clit, trying to stimulate it – which was easy, when Dani was so receptive to every bit of her touch. Santana could hear shuddering moans emitting from her girlfriend's mouth, and it only drove her to further determination to make this all the better for Dani. After all, it was kind of hot when she was the one responsible for doing all this to her. No one else could do it the way that she could.

She felt the first waves of orgasm cascade over her tongue, and Dani was attempting to make syllables into words – trying without succeeding. “Oh, oh, _oh_ ,” she said, biting back a scream. “ _Santana_.”

Santana couldn't reply, because her mouth was occupied doing other, more important things than speaking, but she allowed her hand to drift up and cup at Dani's breast, her fingers drifting over her heart, trying to communicate in ways that didn't need words or a complex vocabulary to explain.

As the waves subsided and Santana drew back, with the taste of Dani still lingering on her tongue, she planted sloppy kisses along the inside of Dani's thigh.

“Wow,” Dani said, laughing as she drew her fingers inside Santana's head and pulled her close for a tender kiss. “ _You're_ the one who's wow now. You made me orgasm while you still had all your clothes on.”

“Santana's got skills,” Santana said, beaming with pride and obvious affection.

“Now it's my turn.”

* * *

The diner was mostly empty one morning about a week or two later. Sam and Jake sat in one of the booths. Jake sipped at a tall chocolate milkshake, while Sam popped forkfuls of scrambled eggs in his mouth. Dani, Marley and Santana all hovered nearby, wiping down tables and straightening salt shakers. This wasn't just any two guys coming into the diner. There was a reason for this clandestine meeting, while Kurt was in class, none the wiser to what his friends were planning behind his back. “Okay, so,” Sam said, clearing his throat and pushing his plate back away from him, “I bought the ring yesterday.”

“You did?” Dani asked, her tone giving away her obvious excitement.

“Yeah.” He took out a small ring box from his pocket and showed the ring to the girls and Jake. The four nodded their approval – it was simple and classy, but still elegant, and screamed Kurt's name. “So, I was thinking about doing a scavenger hunt for the proposal.”

“But Kurt _hates_ scavenger hunts,” Santana said. “He always says that the prizes suck, and that he really doesn't want to go through all that work for a pair of tube socks. And he also questions who would actually wear tube socks -” Jake and Sam both reluctantly raised their hands, “and my point is made. But seriously, you're going to use something that he hates for your proposal?”

“I'm going to give him the one prize that he can't hate. Make him like scavenger hunts – at least if I'm the one running them,” Sam said.

“I think it's really cute,” Marley said. “So, what do you need us for? Besides looking good and cheering you on as you get the guy.”

“I want you to be the clue givers,” Sam said. “I have a list of a few New York City places that I want to go to, and I want each of you to be there to guide him on his way to the final place – which is the first place that he saw me in New York City.”

“Isn't that the middle of Times Square?” Santana asked.

“And, here I thought that you never paid attention to our relationship.”

“Oh, believe me, I know more about your relationship than you realize. Rachel probably does too, but she's off being a minor Broadway star, so there's that,” Santana said.

“Should we get her involved?” Marley asked. “I mean, her and Kurt – they were kind of infamously best friends. Everyone knew about their friendship back in Lima.”

“I already tried calling her,” Santana said. “She wished us well with everything but said that she had dress rehearsals all this week and next – her play's opening in two weeks.”

Marley nodded. “Okay, so it's just the five of us, then. Where do you want us to hang out, Sam?”

“Okay, so the first clue will be at our apartment, because that's where we live. That's you, Santana, because you're the only one of us besides me who's actually lived there.” At Santana's nod of assent, he continued. “The second clue will be on the front steps of NYADA, because that was the first place he serenaded me, with 'I Can Hear the Bells' from Hairspray. Any takers?”

“I'll do it,” Dani said. “And he has good taste in songs.”

“Okay, and our first real date was at a little pizzeria around the corner from NYADA. That's next on the list. Marley, Jake, either of you interested?”

“Sure, why not,” Jake said.

“And our first Christmas in the city, we spent so much time at the ice skating rink and the really awesome Christmas Tree at Rockefeller Center,” he said, “so, Marley, I guess that's you?”

“Sounds great,” she said. “I always wanted to see Rockefeller Center, anyway, so – this might be my chance?”

“You'll have to see it this winter,” Sam said. “It's completely different when the temperature drops below 50 degrees and it is all lit up for Christmas. It has become one of our winter traditions.”

“I'll have to remember that,” she said.

“And then Marley's clue will direct Kurt to Times Square, where I'll be kneeling on one knee and proposing. As each of you finishes your clue, I want you to make your way to Times Square so that he can be surrounded by all of us when it actually happens.” They nodded, and Sam handed out a stack of envelopes. “In each envelope is the clue to the next destination.”

“It's like The Amazing Race, except he's traveling New York City instead of the world, and instead of a million dollars, he gets a fiance at the end of it,” Dani said. “Oh, this is so cute! I should do this for you, Santana.”

Santana looked at Dani, her eyes wide. “You – I -”

“Oh, sorry, did I make you speechless again?” Dani winked at her and threw in a grin to match. It wasn't as if they hadn't mentioned the prospect of marriage, but to hear it thrown out on a day when everyone was thinking wedding rings and long futures of growing gray and old together was another thing altogether. It gave it a sense of concreteness, an aim of something to work for – together.

“So it's set? He gets out of class at three each afternoon, so – maybe have Santana waiting for him when he gets back to the apartment from class?”

“Okay. And when are we planning on doing this? Not today, I hope. We have shift until 6, so if it's today, it has to be later this evening,” Dani said.

“Nah, I was thinking next Friday? You said none of you don't work on Fridays, so.”

“Perfect.”

* * *

The next Friday, Kurt whistled a jaunty tune that sounded vaguely like a piece from Rent as he walked up the stairs to his apartment. He opened the door, and saw a form standing by the couch. “Hi, Sam,” Kurt said, setting his bag down on the floor by the door.

“I really thought you could tell the difference between Sam and I better than that,” Santana said, smiling at him. “Sam's not here.”

“Where is he, then?” Kurt looked at her with a puzzled expression. “He told me to come home right away after class.”

“Take this envelope,” she said, “and your next clue is hidden where you could 'hear the bells,'” she said. “Good luck.”

He tore his finger through the envelope, rage building up inside him. Sam knew how much he hated scavenger hunts. Knew it, knew it, knew it. And he had the audacity to plan a scavenger hunt for him? He might as well just go along with his little plan just simply to hunt him down and kill him for making him go through this.

The clue inside the envelope said essentially what Santana had said, imploring him to seek the place where he could 'hear the bells,' words in quotation marks.” Sam wouldn't be sending him to church, even though they could occasionally hear a local cathedral's bells on a windy Sunday morning – and then it hit him. He remembered the first time he sang to Kurt, standing on the steps at NYADA, Sam's hands in his as he sang the words to that song from Hairspray, “ _I can hear the bells, well, don't you hear them chime?_ ” he sang under his breath, as he made his way back to NYADA, retracing his steps from just half an hour earlier in reverse. “ _Can't you feel my heartbeat keeping perfect time_?”

On the front steps, looking as if a statue frozen in place, Dani was standing there. “So he got you involved too,” Kurt said, as he stepped up to her. “Do tell me, how much of a death wish does my boyfriend have?”

“You'll see what this is all about when it's over,” she said, handing him his envelope with a smile. “Good luck, sweetie.”

He tore it open with his index finger and read the card inside. “The first time you and I went out on a date, we split a pizza. You had extra cheese, and I had all the toppings, but you had my heart and didn't know it yet.”

Oh, this one was easy. It was Luigi's Pizzeria, a popular place for NYADA students, known for its cheap garlic bread and melt-in-your-mouth pizza that always came out of the oven piping hot. Sam was going to have to try harder to hide from him, if that was the point of all this. He elbowed his way through a throng of students, and made his way up to the door.

Spinning on a bar stool inside was Jake, sipping a soda. So if Jake was involved, and Dani and Santana were both involved, he knew that so too must Marley. “Am I going to be looking for your girlfriend next?” Kurt asked, walking up to Jake and placing his hand next to him. “Because I've seen everybody but your girlfriend and my boyfriend, and I kind of suspect that Sam's the last stop in this whole thing.”

“Maybe you are, maybe you're not,” Jake said, coolly handing Kurt an envelope and giving him an almost conspiratorial nod. “If you do see her, say hello for me, by the way.”

The clue inside the envelope read: “It's not Christmas in New York without coming here.”

He thought back to the previous Christmas for inspiration, and thought about what they had done. Besides having sex underneath the Christmas tree, and giving each other very similar gifts, he had to strain to think of what else they had done. Gone to FAO Schwarz and acted like little kids in a giant toy store, and picked out the presents for Stevie and Stacey. Could he mean that? But FAO Schwarz wasn't a big part of their tradition. It was just one of the places they had done their Christmas shopping.

He walked along the sidewalk, deep in thought. For being July, he was thinking a lot about Christmas and winter. And then – could he mean the ice skating rink at Rockefeller Center? He thought back to the last Christmas – how they had gone to Rockefeller Center and skated around in circles, holding hands as Christmas music floated merrily over their heads. Neither of them were the best ice skaters in the world – in fact, Sam had fallen once or twice – but it was the thought that counted. Plus, Sam did look really cute in skates. And the hot cocoa and warm snuggly kisses afterward made it a series of really happy memories.

As if he didn't look cute usually.

He made a beeline toward where Rockefeller Center was. He figured he'd see Marley there, and when he saw Marley, he knew that the next person he'd see would be Sam. Wherever Sam was. And Sam was going to get his ear talked off about this, because he so wasn't dressed for trekking the streets today. If he had known what he was up against, he'd have at least put on his best walking shoes and made a day of it.

Maybe that was the point, in some twisted way. Take him out of his element and shock him, surprise him, just a little. To what ends, he wasn't sure, but he'd find out soon enough.

Sure enough, a short while later, he saw Marley's familiar brunette head standing by a tourist information thing, reading a guide to the city. “Hey,” she said, looking up from her magazine and handing him his envelope. Just like the others.

“Is Sam next? I have a few words I'd like to say with him.”

“Maybe, maybe not.”

“You and Jake are very similar people, what with how you like to torment me. No wonder you two are such a good match. He says hello, by the way.”

She beamed at being called a good match with Jake. “Good luck!”

He read the clue to himself. “The first time I ever saw your face – here, in the city. No, I'm not back in Lima in that choir room, although that would be kind of appropriate right now. Still here in the city. Come and find me,” he read. There were places that he thought it could be – the first time they had been to the city, back when they were in school and came here for Nationals, which would mean he'd be going to the airport. Maybe Sam was surprising him with a trip to Tahiti, or somewhere else exotic like that? He couldn't be mad about that.

He had half a mind to hail a cab and ask them to go to JFK, when he remembered a day a few years before. He knew that Sam was coming into town that day, and Sam called him up and asked him to come down to Times Square. That'd been the day that changed his entire life. That was where he was. Times Square. Which was probably crammed full of tourists, like this entire city was, being the middle of July. But if that was where the clue lead him, that was where he was going to go.

He spun on his heel and made his way toward Times Square, stomping his heel into the sidewalk the whole way. Sam would pay for this. Sam would learn that under no imaginable circumstances did he ever, ever like scavenger hunts. Not ever. Not even one organized by his boyfriend.

Every time he came to Times Square, it was like a certain dose of revelation. It held such mystique for him in this regard – maybe not as much as it used to, now that he was one of the jaded and bitter locals, but it was still ultimately symbolic of his city in so many ways. He looked around. It was wall-to-wall tourists. How was he going to find Sam in this?

A woman stood out of the crowd like a beacon in the night, a familiar face in a sea of strangers. Her long brunette hair waved over her shoulders, and she gave him a broad grin. “Rachel,” he said, gasping and hugging her tightly, “oh my God, what are you doing here?”

“Go and get him,” she said, jabbing her thumb off to her right. The crowd parted in such a way that he could see Sam standing there, with Jake, Dani and Santana flanking his sides. She pointed again. “Go,” she echoed, before she faded back into the nameless, faceless crowd.

Bolstered by the support from Rachel, and seeing his boyfriend standing there, he wove his way through the throng and made it to Sam. “Sam -” he started to say, before Sam cut him off.

“Let me speak,” Sam said. “Because what I have to say can't wait a moment longer than I've already waited.”

“Okay.” Kurt rocked back on his heels and looked expectantly at Sam. “Go ahead.”

“I know you probably hate me for this scavenger hunt,” Sam started by saying, “but believe me, I had a motive behind doing it.”

“Was it to make me wish that I'd chosen to wear different shoes today?”

“Nah,” Sam said. “I wanted you to remember all the good times that we have had together. Our first date. Your first serenade. The first time we saw each other here in the city. Our apartment. Spending Christmases together. Did it bring back a lot of memories?”

“Yeah,” Kurt said, and he felt the tears welling up in his eyes. There were so many positive memories of him and Sam in this city – their story was intertwined with the story of the streets, pulsating with every vivid breath of the buildings that surrounded them. “And you left out a lot of places – like what about Chorus, or the various diners you and I are regulars at, or Rachel's new loft -”

“I chose the most important places, the most important memories, for the most important person in my life,” Sam said. “And you're the most important person in my life, Kurt. Always have been. Always will be.” He dropped on one knee and procured a small black ring box from inside his jacket pocket. “Will you marry me? Make me the happiest guy in the entire city – if not the world?”

He felt the tears rushing in torrents down his cheeks, and he didn't care that he was surrounded by hundreds of tourists gawking at the lights and glitz and glamor that surrounded them. He was solely focused on the man standing before him – the man who had just asked him to make him his husband. “Yes,” he choked out between sobs, “yes, the answer has never been anything but yes.” Dani, Jake and Santana all applauded, and Marley stepped into the scene just in time to join in the applause as well.

Sam slid the ring onto Kurt's ring finger and twirled it into place. The tiny diamond embedded in the band reflected the sunlight as Kurt held it up to admire it. “It's perfect,” Kurt said, the tears subsiding to pure joy. “You – it's perfect. It really is.”

“Just like you,” Sam said, kissing him softly. “A perfect ring for a perfect guy.” He kissed him again, and Kurt threw his arms around his neck and kissed him again, strong and full of passion and flame.

“I can't believe that I'm engaged,” Kurt said, as they walked back in the direction of home. He clasped his hand in Sam's, and he caught Jake and Marley exchanging glances, as were Dani and Santana. “Ladies – and Jake – I know we have a standing Friday night dinner date, but Sam and I respectfully cancel tonight.”

“We do?” Sam asked. At Kurt's pointed glare in response, he quickly amended it by saying, “yeah, yeah, we do.”

“You two are so good at ditching us to have sex,” Santana said, sniffling slightly. “That's your...I guess it's your not so hidden talent. But go on, shoo,” she continued, “the rest of us will find something better to do while you two 'celebrate.'” She turned to Jake and Marley. “How about Nona's Bistro?” she asked.

“Well, considering I was the one who had to sit in a pizzeria for an hour and a half today waiting for Kurt, I think that pizza sounds a lot better to me,” Jake said. “It smelled _so good_ in there.”

“It's something in the garlic bread. Luigi's is to garlic bread as Breadstix was to, well, breadsticks,” Santana said. “But, sure. If you're wanting pizza, then let us go have pizza and gossip about who's going to do what at the wedding.”

“Who says you're even invited?” Kurt asked, his tone light and mocking. “Of course, you're all invited. I fully expect to see all of you there, and you'll each have a part. Just you wait. But for now,” he said, breaking off from the group, “I want to have my fiance all to myself. See you all tomorrow.” He waved at them and walked off hand-in-hand with Sam.

“They're totally in love,” Marley said, and the other three couldn't disagree with her.

If there was one day when people in love were given the allowance to be however they wanted to be, it was the day of their engagement. And their wedding, but one came before the other.

* * *

Kurt turned to Sam as they walked away, a smile still permeating every bit of his facial features. “How certain were you that I wasn't just completing the scavenger hunt in order to throttle you for putting me through that?” he asked, fragments of laughter punctuating the mock-seriousness of his tone.

“Not at all certain,” Sam said. “But I figured that once I proposed, you might just hate it a little less.”

“Well, for whatever it's worth, you figured right,” Kurt said, holding up his hand in front of him to admire the ring. “Engaged. Oh my God. I _am_ engaged.”

“Is it still sinking in?”

“Yeah, because you proposed. Not that I didn't think that you wouldn't. I thought you would, but that you would come up with some crazy surprise way to do it. Which you did. So I guess I was right.” He continued to stare at his ring. “Engaged,” he echoed on a breath of air. “Engaged.”

“Once I got the others to take part, that just made it ten times better, and even more special. You got to enjoy it with your friends being there as well.”

“And Rachel was there! How did you get her? I haven't seen her for over a year!”

“Ask Santana next time you talk to her. That was all her.”

“Okay.” They walked along in blissful, contented silence for a few moments, before Kurt piped up again with “And so we're going to be Kurt and Sam Hummel-Evans. Or Evans-Hummel. Which one sounds better?”

“Whichever you prefer,” Sam said. “For the record though, I'm a fan of Hummel-Evans. It sounds better.”

“Then Hummel-Evans it is,” Kurt said. “Oh my God, I'm hyphenating. My last name is going to be hyphenated with yours.”

“Breathe. Relax. Has it finally sunk in that we're actually getting married?”

“I still think that I might wake up and this has all been some wonderful dream,” Kurt admitted. He took a bit of skin on his left arm between his right index finger and thumb and pinched. “Well, I didn't just wake up then, so maybe it's real. And I'm your fiance, and you're mine, and oh my God.”

“I've been hearing a lot of that today,” Sam said, “and believe me, Kurt, this is real. This is as real as anything that you could ever experience. I wanted to make this day special for you, and I think I succeeded.”

“You exceeded any expectations that I could have ever imagined,” Kurt said. “Not that I had any, because I never dared to imagine what it could be like – I was thinking, you know, maybe a carriage ride through Central Park, or a dinner at one of the fancier restaurants that I like, or maybe you just brought me to a really amazing orgasm and you ask me to marry you like you're asking me something really basic.”

“I'd have at least had a ring with me,” Sam said, “and no, I don't mean a cock ring when I say that.”

Kurt let out a snort. “Okay, so maybe not the post-coital proposal, but one of the others – maybe. I'd have done one of those if I'd proposed to you instead. You would have known because it would have been at one of those hundred dollar a plate restaurants that drive you crazy with the number of forks.”

“It doesn't make sense! Why do you need that many forks? It all ends up in the same place. My mouth, and then my stomach. One fork is all you need to accomplish that.”

“The subtle art of table manners has been lost on you,” Kurt said, shaking his head and patting Sam's back. “It's okay though. I'll not tell anyone, and we can still eat out at fancy places.”

“Okay,” Sam said, as they walked into their apartment building. He reached over and embraced Kurt from the side. “Hey. We're almost home.”

“I know we are.”

“ _Our_ home.”

The meaning of Sam's words sunk in to Kurt, and he looked over at Sam. “Everything is about us now, isn't it?” he asked, a smile filtering in to the sides of his mouth. “You and me, against the world – with our good friends as our sidekicks.”

“Exactly,” Sam said, as he turned the key in the lock and escorted Kurt inside. “Santana was supposed to have helped me set this up,” he said, “so I hope she did.”

“I didn't see anything when I was here for all of two minutes before,” Kurt said.

“Unless you went in the bedroom while you were home, you wouldn't have.” Sam guided Kurt into the bedroom. Electric candles lit the room instead of the usual lamp light. Hundreds of rose bouquets dotted the room, with rose petals strewn across the bed. New red silk sheets glistened from underneath the sea of red and pink and white petals, and Sam walked over to the CD player and turned it on. The first strains of romantic violin music poured out from the speakers. “Shall we dance?” Sam asked.

“ _Oh_. Oh my,” Kurt said, putting his hand to his mouth. “You – all this, just for me?”

“Only for you,” Sam said. He took Kurt's hand in his own and pirouetted him around in a circle. “I wanted to make you feel like the king of the world. Because that's what you are, in my eyes.”

“Oh, Sam,” Kurt said, kissing Sam and pressing his body up against him. He felt tears prick at the corners of his eyes. His feet shuffled in time with the music, gradually picking up the rhythm set by the tone, as they moved in fluid unison. “This is – you – I can't believe this,” he said, and he fought back allowing the tears to fall freely.

“Believe it,” Sam said. “This is your life now. And forever.” He tilted his finger under Kurt's chin and crooked it up to face him. “No tears. Just love,” he said, wiping his finger under Kurt's eyes to catch the tears. He leaned in and kissed Kurt softly, allowing his lips to linger there; Kurt caught the hint, and sealed his lips over Sam's, melding his lips against Sam's. He wiggled his tongue inside Sam's mouth and swooped it around, feeling the exhilarating feeling of Sam all around him. Sam's arms embraced him, pulling him close, making him feel so loved – like there was nothing else in the world, in this moment, except the two of them and the peaceful violin music in the background.

It was an easy thing to believe, and when he felt Sam's hand slide around to the small of his back and ruffle the fabric of his t-shirt, he knew it to be true. He instinctively spread his legs a little and hitched them around Sam's leg. “Please,” he murmured.

"Please?” Sam asked, as if he was asking a question to which he knew the answer.

“I want my fiance inside me,” Kurt said, almost as if there was no doubt in the world. He wanted Sam more than anything in that moment – he wanted to feel Sam over him, inside him, in every way, he wanted to feel Sam. “Please.” He ground against Sam's thigh, trying to entice him – as if he needed any enticement. No, really. He didn't need any, but it sure helped when he did.

Something clicked inside Sam when he heard Kurt refer to him as his fiance. It was as if his whole face lightened up and everything made sense in that new way of things making sense. “Of course,” he said, gently guiding Kurt backward to hit the bed. He slid Kurt's shirt off over his head, and went to work on the pants and briefs, and before long, Kurt was laying there on the bed wearing nothing but a satisfied smile on his face.

“Now,” Kurt said, “now that you got me all undressed and hot and bothered, how about you join me?” His cock twitched against his side, as if every part of Kurt was conspiring to get Sam in on the action – from those luscious lips to the flat planes of his chest to his full cock – and everything in between.

Sam groaned and bit back a smirk. “Of course,” he said, fumbling to get all his clothes off. He wasn't nearly as smooth with his own body as he was with Kurt's, and it was difficult, and why had he chosen to wear a button-down shirt on a day that he knew would very likely end in sex?

Kurt reached up from his lounging position on the bed and flicked open a button at the bottom, and then a second. “Just helping you along,” Kurt said, with an innocent smile on his face, as he allowed his fingers to drift to graze over Sam's bulge.

“Your way of helping me is so not helping,” Sam said, “There are too many layers of fabric, and oh my God – the buttons. The _buttons_ , Kurt. Why did I wear buttons today?”

“To give me a show while you undress?” Kurt suggested with a cheeky wink. “You'll get there,” he said, allowing his finger to flick through the clasp of Sam's jeans and undoing them. He ran his finger along the soft expanse of skin that was revealed to him as he did so. “I know you will.”

Finally, Sam managed to get the shirt off, and his pants were shoved down with a very indignant shove that also took his boxers with it – and then he laid against Kurt, pressing against him, seeking out his inner warmth with everything that he had. He kissed the sides of Kurt's face and swirled his tongue in the shell of his ear, and Kurt let out a moan. “I'm _way_ too turned on for foreplay,” he said, as a statement of fact. “ _Please_.” His continued insistence was only speeding things along toward the inevitable climax, pun totally not intended but worked perfectly for the moment.

“I'm too,” Sam said. No foreplay – that meant, oh – he reached over into the nightstand and pulled out the tiny bottle of lube that they kept in there for occasions like this, where their lust was threatening to overtake them if they didn't just take care of it right then. He squirted it liberally onto his fingers and positioned his fingers right outside Kurt's hole. “Going to make you good and ready for me,” he said, and Kurt nodded his assent as he held onto Sam's other arm, grasping for dear life.

“Okay,” Kurt said in a hushed whisper, and Sam pressed on inside, burying one finger to the knuckle and then a second, moving and scissoring them around. He added a third finger, and Kurt about lost his breath. “Please,” Kurt said. “I'm ready. Just. Please, Sammy. Make me feel good. Make your fiance feel good.”

Sam nodded – Kurt calling him 'Sammy' was always one of his weaknesses, which was a fact that Kurt was notorious for exploiting when it came to the bedroom – and with one final curve of his fingers, pulled them out. He made sure that his cock was slick with lube, and slid in where his fingers had just been, replacing the sensation of his fingers with his cock instead. He slid in and out, trying to build a steady rhythm with the motion of his hips.

Kurt, for his part in it, bucked and thrashed, trying to take all of Sam inside him in one swoop. “Please, please, please,” he said, each plea a plea for release – the walk back to the apartment had been enough to make him extremely turned-on. Not that he really needed excuses to want to have sex with Sam, or to be turned on, but it was enough that there was a built-up spiral inside his stomach threatening to unwind at any moment, especially if Sam continued to do that delectable thing where his head was bent to Kurt's neck, placing a trail of hot kisses that felt like living fire along the slope of his neck and collarbone.

“Your wish is my command,” Sam said, picking up the pace. His balls slammed against Kurt's skin, and Kurt rolled his head back to expose the underside of his chin to Sam's questing lips. It was so good. It was as close to perfect as he had ever managed to find – Sam was his perfection, his perfect guy. They continued this game for a few delicate moments, before Sam shoved in with one final, perfect burst of shimmering light. Fireworks danced before Kurt's eyes as the spiral unwound, blanketing both him and Sam in the motion in a sheet of effervescent white.

Sam slid his index finger through it, making the shape of a heart against his chest as he popped his finger in his mouth, tasting the essence of everything that was pure and Kurt beneath his tongue, before coming on a strangled shout, filling up Kurt. As he gently slid out, aided by the immense amounts of lubrication they had procured, Kurt kissed him, long and hard, his hand resting at the base of his skull, pulling him in, not wanting to let him go no matter what.

“Wow,” Kurt said, basking in the glow that radiated through the room. “That was -”

“ _That_ was what it's like to be engaged,” Sam said, almost in awe as he said it. “And married sex is going to be even better than that. I know it.”

“Our sex is already pretty amazing, so we're going to perfect perfection?” Kurt asked, laughing and kissing the tip of Sam's nose with tiny little pecks.

“Something like that, yeah.”

“I'm so going to cook you dinner tonight. I don't want to go out, not like this,” Kurt said, lazily stretching his arms above his head. “Besides, if we stay in, and you look so delicious sitting there at the table, I can just have you bend me backwards over the table and have you for dinner instead. And no one would be around to give us funny looks for doing it in public.”

“Oh, really?” Sam said. “I think my appetite tonight is for you and only you, but if you're going to fix me dinner for giving you an amazing orgasm, then I think that's a fair trade. Your skirt steak is amazing – that sauce that you do -”

“You know it,” Kurt said. “I'm pretty sure I was planning to make you dinner one of these nights anyway, so I should have the ingredients. And if I don't, then we're calling out for Vietnamese spring rolls. I'm not leaving this apartment until we make use of every room and fixture in this entire place. Anoint it with our engagement.”

“So, step one, we have taken care of with the bed, and then there's the kitchen table, the kitchen counter, the couch -” Sam started thinking of all the places in the apartment where they could possibly have sex.

“The shower, the desk -” Kurt continued by saying. “And really, we could always revisit some of our favorite places.”

“It sounds like we're not leaving this apartment for a few days,” Sam said, his eyes twinkling, unable to hide the smile that fluttered at the corner of his lips whenever Kurt was around. “You sure we got enough food?”

“Yes, but I hardly think that's what matters most,” Kurt said, planting teasing little kisses at the base of Sam's jaw. “Now, I need to go start that sauce -” he said, swinging his legs over the side of the bed, trying to catch his balance so that he could stand without support. He grabbed Sam's arm for balance.

Sam tilted his head up to look at him. “Do you really want to leave?” he asked, his voice coy and flirtatious.

“No, not really. You should come with me,” Kurt said, wiggling his ass in Sam's general direction. “What if I need you in the kitchen?”

“I'll be right here,” Sam said, and Kurt knew that to be true. Sam had been right there every step of the way, and he was going to continue to be right there, because they were engaged.

Engaged.

That word had a _really_ good ring to it.

* * *

Contrary to Kurt's Jeunet obsession, it wasn't a very long engagement between Sam and Kurt at all. Six months to the day later – a blustery late January morning in New York City, they stood inside a ritzy '20s banquet hall. Marley, Dani and Santana wore art deco inspired dresses, pillars of fabric and silk standing upright, while Jake looked dashing in his tuxedo. Their other friends and family members milled around and sampled the spreads of finger food that'd been set out.

Piano music sounded from inside the room where the actual ceremony was to be held. “Ooh, sounds like we should go sit down,” Marley said, popping the last bit of a lobster bite into her mouth. “It's about to start.”

Stacey grasped fistfuls of rose petals from her basket and strew them on the carpet, as she pranced down the aisle happily, and everyone around her smiled at the sight. And then, the music swelled, and all eyes in the room turned to look at the two men entering the room through separate doors. As soon as they saw each other, their eyes locked on and didn't break as they walked toward each other. As they met, they grasped each other's hands and walked Stacey's rose petal carpet hand-in-hand.

Kurt and Sam were dressed in matching tuxedos, the picture of picture-perfect elegance and refinement – and considering the place where they were was filled to the brim with vintage art deco touches, they only complemented their surroundings instead of clashing with it. As they walked down the aisle, they nodded to Dani, Santana, Marley and Jake, who were sitting in the front row of chairs, and then, they met the officiant. Their hands were still clasped together as they stood there, not wanting to let go even for a second.

“Welcome to the wedding of Kurt Hummel and Sam Evans,” the officiant said, looking at the two men. “It's always a pleasure to officiate a wedding where I can tell that the two getting married are clearly in love, and from what I've seen of these two over our planning stages, they embody that body and soul. Let us begin.”

When it came time to partake of the vows, Kurt motioned to the piano player, who nodded a discreet nod and slipped a CD into the CD player. “I've been told that Mr. Hummel has a particular request for his vows,” the officiant said. “Do you, Kurt, take this man to be your lawfully wedded husband, for better or for worse, for richer or for poorer, for all the rest of your days?”

The music from the CD player came blaring across the room, and Sam had to stifle a laugh, burying it into his hands instead. He recognized the song. Anyone who lived with Kurt for any extended period of time would. Mamma Mia was one of Kurt's favorite movies to watch to cheer himself up when he was down, and he had been privy to more than a few screenings of it over time. Besides, it was just a good movie. And Kurt began to sing along with the track: “ _I love you, can't deny it, 'cause it's true. I do, I do, I do, I do, I do!_ ”

The music clicked off, and the officiant turned to Sam. “And do you, Sam, take this man -”

“I do,” Sam said, looking at Kurt with love pouring out of his eyes. Kurt might be the kind of person to sing along to Mamma Mia during his wedding, and hate scavenger hunts until the time when he got an engagement ring at the end, but he was everything Sam wanted. “Never been any doubt in my mind.”

Kurt beamed at Sam's words. “And I now pronounce you husbands,” the officiant said. “You may now kiss.”

Sam leaned in to brush his lips against Kurt's. “Husbands,” he whispered, as he kissed Kurt, feather-light kisses that served to remind Kurt of what he'd have for the rest of his life, and Kurt drank him in, savoring the kisses and reciprocating in kind.

“Husbands,” Kurt echoed in an awed whisper as they broke apart.

They walked out of the room to the swell of piano music once more, rice being thrown in the air in celebration by those around them.

It was a good day.

* * *

At the reception luncheon, Dani, Jake, Marley and Santana were sitting all around the same table. “So, Puckerman, I heard from Sam that you got your first really good modeling gig,” Santana said. “Way to go. Are we going to be seeing you on Gap ads on the subway?”

“Nah,” he said, cutting his chicken breast into tiny little cubes. “It's just a local print advertising campaign for men's jeans, but you know. Local means New York City, so that's already better than if it was local and I was back in Lima.”

“That's awesome,” Dani said.

Marley swallowed a bite of chicken. “And I've already seen the pictures, because Jake got copies to put in his portfolio. And they're _really_ hot,” she said, looking over at Jake. “As if there was any way that they wouldn't be, because it's Jake, and – I can officially say that my boyfriend is a male model. And that's kind of really hot.”

“Don't tell me if I'm right or not,” Santana said, “but he probably gets to test out his poses with you, so you really get to enjoy things?” At Marley's pronounced blush, she nodded and speared a carrot with her fork. “Thought so.”

Dani grinned. “And I convinced one of the regulars at the diner to give Santana some studio time to record a song or two, see how it goes.”

“Oh!” Marley said, turning to Santana. “That's fantastic! How did it go? I didn't hear about this!”

“I haven't done it yet,” Santana said, “but it's booked for next Wednesday morning. I'm thinking, maybe an Aaliyah cover, maybe a little Selena, I really haven't decided yet, but I'm looking forward to it – maybe he will want to give me a deal, and when it's successful, I can quit the diner.”

“We would miss you,” Marley said.

“Just because I'd be quitting the diner doesn't mean that you're going to escape having me around,” Santana said. “I'd still hang out with the Lima Transplant Crew, just I'd be famous – or at least a one hit wonder on the radio, which is more than a lot of people can say in this industry.”

“Only you would see being a one hit wonder as a good thing, Santana,” Jake said.

“Everyone would remember my song and who I was, and always wonder what had happened to me, while I continued to put out music that meant something to me, with my wife providing the best duet partner in the world,” Santana said, winking at Dani.

“ _Wife_?” Dani asked, her voice clearly shocked, yet not upset at the question and the inference involved. “Are you – at a wedding, are you seriously, oh my God -”

“Nah, not tonight. I'm not going to steal Kurt and Sam's thunder. But one day. When you least expect it. I'll drag the other four into doing some wacky scavenger hunt-type thing – except not a scavenger hunt, because that's Sam's thing now.” She pressed her fork to her lip and pressed it in slightly. “Maybe – well, I don't know. Except that it will be awesome and you'll love it.”

“I'm sure that I will, because it was something that you came up with while thinking about me,” Dani said, kissing Santana's cheek tenderly. “And you know I'll say yes. What about you two?” she asked, turning to Jake and Marley. “Has he asked you yet?”

“Not yet,” Jake said. “We've been talking about it, but I haven't made it official yet.”

“What are you waiting for?”

He looked at Marley, who was looking back at him, and smiled. “The perfect moment.”

“You two are adorable. And nauseating. But mostly adorable,” Santana said, before she caught a glimpse of Kurt and Sam on the move. “I think they're about to say something,” she said.

Kurt and Sam stood up on stage and clapped their hands to get everyone's attention. “And now that we have everyone's attention,” Sam said. “We know that this wedding wasn't exactly the most traditional wedding, but we wanted to add our own little touches.”

Everyone nodded and acknowledged their words. “But,” Kurt continued, “we still wanted to keep some of the traditions, so Stacey, my darling sister-in-law, can you bring me the flower girl bouquet?”

She bounded up to the stage happily, holding the basket that'd once held rose petals, and now simply had a bouquet of roses attached to the front of it. Kurt slid the bouquet out from the wires that held into place, and held it aloft. “Neither of us was the 'bride' today, but we still want to throw a bouquet out there. See where fate takes us,” he continued, a smile teasing at the corner of his features. “So would all the single people – not just the ladies, men, this is for you too – please step forward?”

The four of them got up from their seats, leaving their wraps and purses in place in their seats. Marley and Jake, and Dani and Santana, each exchanged looks of pure, unadulterated determination as they stepped forward to the parquet where the other single guests were gathered – from those as young as Stacey, to other people from New Directions, to Kurt's unmarried Aunt Harriet.

Kurt turned around so that he was no longer facing the crowd, and tossed the bouquet behind him. “Catch!”

Each of them leaped into the air to try to grab it, jostling each other, elbowing each other in the face, trying to gain any bit of precious leverage that they could for the extremely short duration of a bouquet toss. Even with Kurt's twisty throw that spiraled up and through the air with ease, it still was a split second maneuver that was over almost before it began.

The bouquet landed in someone's hands. “Yes!” their voice called out through the crowd, and a few people gave grunts of disapproval. Their partner looked over at them approvingly, however, and grinned, silently thinking of the sparkling diamond ring that sat curled up in a pair of socks back in their apartment – a place their partner would never think to check. Maybe this was some sort of cosmic sign from the universe. The old myth was, after all, that the person to catch the bouquet would be the next to get married.

Old myths were about to come true, in a way – but it was something that'd been set in motion some time before.

There would be another wedding in New York City shortly. And all six of them would be attending once again, but the positions would shift around a bit.

(And then there would be another, because that was how things went. So goes one, so goes them all.)

- _fini_ -

**Author's Note:**

> Songs in the story:  
> "Heart Attack" by Demi Lovato  
> "Artpop" by Lady Gaga  
> A modified version of "Only Girl in the World" by Rihanna  
> "I Can Hear the Bells" from Hairspray  
> "I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do" from Mamma Mia

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [When the Lights Go Down in the City [Wallpapers]](https://archiveofourown.org/works/1054559) by [WhatBecomesOfYou](https://archiveofourown.org/users/WhatBecomesOfYou/pseuds/WhatBecomesOfYou)




End file.
